In the third day of testimony in the federal corruption case against former Newark Mayor Sharpe James, prosecutors tried to lay a paper trail to convince jurors that James, motivated by his romantic relationship with Riley, steered her property sales for rehabilitation projects despite her lack of qualification.

City Clerk Robert Marasco perused four packages of resolutions passed by the city council approving the sale of nine properties to Riley for rehabilitation. At the questioning of Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Kwon, Marasco said three of the packages did not contain project proposals, preliminary site plans, estimated total development costs or amount of financing. The fourth contained something similar to a proposal, but still did not have all the elements required of the applicants, he said.

Defense attorneys contend Riley was no different from any other person participating in the redevelopment of the city's South Ward and was not given favorable treatment.

On cross-examination of Marasco, James' lead attorney Thomas Ashley presented 11 municipal ordinances and resolutions that authorized land sales to various developers, all for $2,000 per unit, the same price Riley paid for her properties.

The prosecution's first witness, a former business partner of Riley's, had testified that Riley told her they could get the property for free.

The federal government is using Marasco's testimony to try to show that Riley, who allegedly earned more than $600,000 in profits by quickly reselling the parcels, was unqualified for the work and received favorable treatment only because of her relationship with James.

James, 72, and Riley, 38, are charged with conspiracy and fraud. Riley also is charged with tax evasion. They have pleaded not guilty and have denied any wrongdoing.

To reinforce its assertion that James' motive was his extramarital affair with Riley, the prosecution today called one of the former mayor's bodyguards, Newark policeman Adelino Benavente, as its fourth witness.

Benavente, who worked the mayor's security detail from 2000 to 2006, said he was instructed to purchase an air conditioner and install it with two of the mayor's aides in Riley's Jersey City apartment in July 2002.

When pressed to elaborate by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Perry Primavera, Benavente reluctantly complied, often saying he could not recall specific dates or details.

"I'm not sure if I got the instructions from the mayor himself,'' he said. He also said he didn't remember purchasing the unit, but conceded he did when presented with a receipt from P.C. Richards with his signature and a notation that said ``for MSJ,'' the mayor's initials, on city time on July 8, 2002. The $409.27 charge later showed up on James' personal credit card statement.

Benavente also said Riley "frequently'' -- sometimes twice a day -- called his personal and city-issued cell phones to reach James.

Primavera questioned him about phone calls during a period when prosecutors say James and Riley's relationship temporarily cooled.

"I recall the mayor saying something about 'Tamika is dating someone ... I don't want to talk to her right now,'" Benavente testified.

He said he didn't know when Riley first came on the scene, but said he remembered meeting her for the first time at an event she hosted at Newark Symphony Hall in 2002.

The defense insists the city council, not the mayor, has the authority to approve these land deals. But on questioning by Kwon, Marasco said that's not always the case.

Marasco, clerk for 21 years, explained the process of the preparation and passage of a resolution. He told jurors a resolution emanates from a city department, which then forwards a draft form to the city clerk, who only checks for the proper signatures.

Marasco said the city council got particularly vigilant about meeting with developers before voting on a resolution because of complaints about shoddy construction on housing projects in the city and concerns about affirmative action requirements.

Kwon asked Marasco whether the city council or clerk checks for elements such as qualifications of developers or their financial resources.

``From your understanding, who does the investigation?'' Kwon asked.

"The orginating department,'' Marasco replied.

James' former personal secretary previously testified that the ex-mayor sent a personal and confidential memo to department heads directing that he receive a blind carbon copy of memos relating to city land deals.

Riley's applications contained information that at times conflicted with the city council resolutions. Some resolutions and applications had different properties to be sold, and sometimes varied on the number of parcels than those under consideration for sale.

Some applications did not contain any preliminary financing figures and others had letters from banks that appeared to serve more as a letter of recommendation rather than a financing commitment.